Smokey Bear, the Forest Service icon, turns 75 today (Friday, Aug. 9) and to mark the occasion the Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is partnering with Great Basin Institute and Heavenly Mountain Resort to host two events.

The first will take place today (Aug. 9) at 1 p.m. at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center

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The visitor center is located on California Route 89, approximately 3 miles northwest of the city of South Lake Tahoe. This event is free and open to all ages.

The next day, Aug. 10, Smokey Bear will be at the Heavenly Mountain Resort Gondola starting at 11 a.m.

Smokey — known for his signature phrase “only you can prevent wildfires” — will be available for photo ops at the bottom of the gondola and then will board the gondola and ride up to the midstation at noon. Smokey will stick around for another photo op, before heading to the top of the gondola where he will be available for more photo ops beginning roughly at 1 p.m.

The Heavenly Gondola is located at the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe. This event is open to all ages but does require a gondola ticket if proceeding to the midstation and top of the gondola.

The Tahoe Daily Tribune is a sister publication to The Union.

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